


the ways to say

by enamuko



Series: Corrin Ship Week [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2017-08-18
Packaged: 2018-12-17 01:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11840892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enamuko/pseuds/enamuko
Summary: Five times Iago and Corrin didn't say 'I love you', and the one time they did.





	the ways to say

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt originally intended for Corrin ship week. Some more Iago/f!Corrin; don't be surprised if Iago/Corrin ends up being my ship for all these prompts, because hey, somebody's gotta do it. ;)
> 
> EDIT: Forgot to mention, this was intended to be for the prompt 'Ways to say "I love you"'.

_. one_

The cell was precisely what one would expect from a prison cell—it was dark, the bed was little more than a stone slab, and Iago could swear he saw a rat scurry by out of the corner of his eye while trying (and failing) to sleep.

That he was still alive was, quite frankly, shocking. He had expected a messy but quick execution at the hands of the royal siblings; he hadn’t ever expected Corrin to intervene on his behalf to spare his life. If anyone wanted him dead…

“Iago?”

He jumped at the sound of her voice. Gods—it was so easy to forget how _quiet_ someone could be when they didn’t wear shoes. He glowered at her from his poor excuse for a bed.

“What do _you_ want?” He curled the edge of his lip in a scowl. Corrin didn’t seem the least bit bothered by his expression.

“I—brought you something.”

She was holding a covered bowl. She removed the cover, and a fragrant steam that made his mouth water wafted off the contents.

He eyed her warily as she opened the slot used to pass things to the prisoners and passed the bowl though, and made no move to take it from her.

“You haven’t been eating,” she said, sounding almost— _almost—_ concerned. Iago raised an eyebrow at her.

“There’s a good reason for that,” he said, eyeing her offering suspiciously. Corrin sighed and withdraw the bowl.

“You’re afraid we’re trying to poison you,” she said.

“Perhaps you’re not as mind-bogglingly naïve as I assumed,” he drawled, giving her a completely deadpan look. Though he had to admit that the stew she was offering him looked appetizing—particularly after several days of abstaining.

Corrin picked up the spoon she’d brought with the stew and, making almost uncomfortable eye contact with him, took a large spoonful. He watched her eat two mouthfuls before she passed the bowl back through the opening.

“If we wanted you dead, we could have just killed you instead of bothering to take you prisoner,” she said, rattling the bowl. “It would have saved us a lot of trouble in the long run. So just eat, okay?”

He stared at the bowl for a few moments longer before finally taking the bowl from her. She certainly wasn’t keeling over, and he _was_ hungry… dying from poison was probably easier than dying from starvation, anyway.

“I hope you’re not expecting thanks,” he said as he settled back on his hard slab with the bowl in his lap, waiting for her to leave; he had no intentions of wolfing down his food with her standing there. Corrin shook her head, not as a ‘no’ gesture but from exasperation.

“Goodnight, Iago.”

 

* * *

 

 . _two_

“Corrin!”

“Corrin, look out!”

Her vision swam as she collapsed to her knees, her hand pressed tightly over the wound in her side. In the back of her mind, she knew she had to get herself to safety, to a healer—but her legs didn’t seem to want to listen to her, and it was hard to focus on that thought—

A violent wind pulled her cape over her as a burst of wind magic reduced the enemy soldier who had struck her to so much _meat_. She might have been horrified—but she was already having trouble staying conscious, never mind process what was going on around her…

Corrin collapsed, unable to hold herself up any longer. She knew her stomach should hurt, but she only felt numb, and cold…

“…rrin…”

“…dy orri…”

“...ady Corrin!”

Her eyes snapped open as she was rolled onto her back. A blurry, dark figure leaned over her; it slowly resolved itself into a pale face half-hidden by a golden mask and framed by a nest of uneven length black hair.

“Stay with me, Lady Corrin.” A cool hand settled on the side of her face, and she leaned into the touch. A shadow passed over her and instantly she felt a tingling sensation through her body, centered around the wound itself.

“I…Iago…?”

“Save your energy. And let me concentrate. But don’t fall asleep.”

That was a difficult request, but even more so between the gentle magical sparks running through her body as he poured the power of his stave into healing her… and the gentle feeling of Iago’s hand on her cheek.

 

* * *

 

 . _three_

“Iago…?”

Corrin peeked around the curtain that had hid Iago’s cot from the main portion of the medical tent; since very few other patients had similar accommodations, Corrin had to assume he’d made special arrangements.

Iago looked up from what he was reading and raised an eyebrow at her. He slipped a ribbon into the book and set it aside—though it took him a while to do so, given that one of his arms was put up in a sling.

“Yes, Lady Corrin?” He set his book on the cot next to him and leaned back against his small mountain of pillows. (Thankfully, there weren’t many people recovering in the medical tent.)

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she stepped inside, making sure the curtain was shut behind her.

“Well, my arm is sore,” Iago said with a drawl, leveling a flat look at her. Corrin couldn’t help it; she let out a small giggle and tried to hide it behind her hand. “Did you need something?”

“I just wanted to check on you,” she replied, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. “I mean, you _did_ get hurt for my sake.”

She fiddled with the end of her cape as she stared into her lap. When she looked up, Iago was staring at her, making her feel quite self-conscious.

“I’m fine,” he said. She was—surprised, almost, by the tone of his voice. She expected exasperation, but he sounded surprisingly gentle. “Nothing the healers and some rest can’t solve. But if you want to make it up to me…”

“Yes?” She leaned in slightly towards him. There was enough guilt weighing her down about the situation; Iago wasn’t a front-line warrior, and not so long ago he’d been their _prisoner_ , and the fact that he’d taken a hit bad enough to break his arm in several places for _her_ was almost stunning to her. In that moment, he could have asked her for nearly anything and she would have agreed to it.

“Be more careful.” Her shoulders sagged as, for a moment, she thought it was just going to be another one of Iago’s sassy comments. But the way he narrowed his eyes at her told her otherwise. “I mean it, Corrin. This entire farce of an army would fall apart without you here to lead it. If you continue to concern yourself more with the health and wellbeing of others than your own safety, you _will_ end up dead, and this entire cause will be dead in the water. And I would much rather not have to keep putting myself in danger for you.”

Corrin stared at him for a few moments. Was he being serious? Of course, she could understand the last part—and _she_ didn’t want anything like that to happen, either. But just as she couldn’t understand why Iago had agreed to join their army in the first place, she had a hard time understanding why Iago would be so concerned with her wellbeing. Not that she didn’t appreciate it.

“I’m not sure I can really promise that,” she said finally. “I can’t stand by and let other people fight my battles for me. But… I’ll do what I can. And… thank you for worrying about me.”

“Don’t get used to it, Corrin,” he said with a sigh, reaching for his book with his good arm. She reached across his legs and picked it up, handing it to him. He accepted it, though both remained holding on to the book for longer than necessary. They stared at each other, until finally Iago gave the book a small tug and took it from her. “…thank you, Corrin. For coming by to check up on me.”

She was taken aback by that, but after blinking at him stupidly for a moment, she simply smiled.

“You don’t need to thank me. I was happy to stop by, and I should be the one thanking you,” she said with a small shake of her head. “Get some rest, Iago.”

She got up from the edge of his bed and stepped out through the curtain—pausing only to wave at him before letting the curtain fall shut behind her.

 

* * *

 

  _. four_

“Iago, may I speak with you for a moment?”

The tactician— _former_ tactician, he had to remind himself—sighed as he set aside his tome. He turned his chair around to face the entrance to his makeshift office.

“Of course, Lord Leo. I _always_ have time for royalty.” His smile was as forced as his ‘polite’ tone of voice, but since he and Leo had always been quite honest about their dislike of each other, he wasn’t in the mood for trying. Besides, it wasn’t as though he had anything to lose anymore…

“I want to discuss an important matter. My sister.” Leo narrowed his eyes at him, and Iago in turn raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Iago. “She took a huge risk allowing you to join our forces. In fact—she took a huge risk even letting you _live_.”

“So everyone keeps reminding me, as if I needed to be reminded.” Iago turned his back on Leo again. It was a blatant display of disrespect, but he didn’t have any patience to deal with the siblings’ nonsense.

“You see, I think you _do_. Because it seems like you’re spending _quite a lot of time_ with Corrin, and considering you were once my father’s right hand, I can’t help but find that suspicious.” He didn’t have to be looking at Leo to know he was glaring daggers at him. Iago rolled his eyes.

“If you have an issue with your sister and I spending time together, I would take that up with her, Lord Leo. She’s the one who insists on seeking me out.” He took his quill from his inkwell and continued his writing, hoping that the younger Nohrian prince would grow bored with harassing him. Of course, his life had rarely trended towards that kind of luck…

“It’s lucky for you that I know Corrin well enough to know that’s true,” Leo said. “But that’s not going to get you ‘off the hook’, as it were. We both know that Corrin trusts too easily. To make up for that, you can be sure I’ll be keeping an eye on you…”

Of that, Iago had no doubt. And he had no doubt that Princess Camilla and Prince Xander would be keeping just as close an eye on him, not to mention Lady Azura and the massive number of retainers Corrin seemed intent on accumulating… it was almost funny. Being friendly with Corrin seemed to earn him more suspicion than being a former member of the enemy army.

Normally, he would have let it slide. He hardly expected Leo—or anyone else in the army, for that matter—to trust him simply because Corrin did. He hardly went a day without reminding her of how naïve she was and he would start pulling his hair out if every other member of the army adopted the same mindset. If Leo had been bothering him for any reason other than the fact that he spent a great deal of time with Corrin, he might have let the issue lie…

“Lord Leo.”

Leo had turned to leave, obviously content he’d made his point, but stopped when Iago called to him. He’d turned back around in his seat to level a cold, impersonal look at the youngest Nohrian prince.

“I can appreciate a healthy dose of paranoia as much as the next person,” he said, not really trying to hide the sneer that was creeping onto his face. “But if that paranoia interferes with my privacy, or Corrin’s, or _both_ , I certainly won’t hesitate to tell her about this… conversation. Do we understand each other?”

“Is that a threat, Iago?” Leo narrowed his eyes even further, making it look as though he’d smelled something positively foul. Iago’s own face morphed from a sneer to a grin.

“Good. So we _do_ understand each other.” He schooled his face back into careful neutrality, with a touch of condescension for flavour. “After all, we both know your sister wouldn’t appreciate you poking your nose into her personal life. Now, if that was all—”

“What do you mean by interfering with Corrin’s privacy?” Leo’s expression was downright venomous now; Iago could practically see murder in his eyes.

“Corrin and I enjoy our time alone together, Lord Leo. An invasive presence would be as unpleasant for her as for me, I’m sure.” He sniffed contemptuously and turned back to his work.

Leo was silent. If he hadn’t been able to feel his incredibly intrusive presence glaring holes into his back, he would have sworn he’d left.

“…if you hurt her, Iago, you’ll spend the rest of your _very short_ life wishing we had simply killed you outright.”

He could have pretended he didn’t know what Leo was talking about, but there were times when feigning ignorance was smart and times when it was just pathetic. This was one of the latter moments. So instead he simply sighed and punctuated it with the scratching of quill against parchment.

“I would expect nothing less, Lord Leo. If you’ll excuse me, I still have work to do.”

“Of course, Iago. We’ll speak again later… I’m sure.”

 

* * *

 

 . _five_

“So, Corrin… you seem to be spending an awful lot of time with Iago, hm?”

“C-Camilla…! I didn’t see you there.”

Camilla smiled at her from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, working away at some bit of embroidery. Corrin put a hand over her heart as she waited for it to restart. She didn’t expect to walk into her room to find her older sister sitting on her bed—when the door was supposed to be locked.

“Sorry, darling; did I scare you?” Camilla laughed as she set her embroidery aside, patting the bed next to her. “Come, sit down. Let’s have some sister time.”

“O-of course.” Corrin sat down where Camilla had indicated. “I’m always happy to spend time with you. But… I can’t help but feel like you’ve got some ulterior motives.”

“Now what makes you say that? Maybe I just want to have a little chit-chat with my adorable baby sister, hm?” Camilla reached up to pinch her cheek. Corrin grumbled and made a high-pitched noise of complaint. When Camilla released her cheek, she reached up and rubbed the skin that she was sure was red.

“Well… you _did_ start off the conversation by asking about Iago. That’s… a pretty obvious giveaway.”

“Oh, I just can’t get anything past you, can I?” Camilla sighed and frowned. “It’s for the best, I suppose. I hate lying to you.”

“Good to know. I’d hate to hear you enjoyed lying to me…” Corrin narrowed her eyes. She doubted this was going to go anywhere good, but her suspicious expression made Camilla smile.

“Now Corrin, there’s no need to pout, especially when you have such a pretty smile.” This time Camilla cupped her cheeks in her hands, which Corrin had to say she preferred to being pinched… just barely. “I just felt like it would be a good idea to remind you that if anyone ever bothers you, all you need to do is say the word and I’ll punish them as painfully as you’d like.”

“G-good to know…” Corrin couldn’t help but wince at that. Camilla had always been… a little extreme, to put it nicely, and threats like that were her least favorite thing about her elder sister. “But really, Camilla. I’m fine. I know it might be… _unorthodox_ … but I actually like spending time with Iago. There’s a lot I can learn from him.”

Camilla frowned at that, but the frown quickly disappeared and was replaced with her usual smile.

“Well, I suppose I can’t argue with that. He has been Father’s advisor and tactician for many years. I’m sure he has all sorts of little tidbits of wisdom to share with you.” She reached up and pushed Corrin’s hair back out of her face. “Just… be sure to take his words with a grain of salt, alright? I know you’ve come to trust him, as much as I can’t understand that… but even then, his methods have always been… questionable, at best.”

“Camillaaaa. You don’t have to worry, really.” Corrin leaned into her sister’s gentle touch. Encouraged, Camilla started to idly braid her hair. “I know Iago’s views and mine don’t really align on a lot of things. But… and I _know_ this is going to sound crazy… I really value his friendship.”

She stared off into the distance. She _knew_ it sounded crazy… it wasn’t so long ago that the two of them had been trying to kill each other, and Iago wasn’t the friendliest guy. In fact, he communicated primarily through insults… but that just made it even more special when he complimented her, told her she had a sharp mind. It made her feel… _important_ in a way she had never expected. After all, she couldn’t imagine him saying those things to anyone else.

“Hm… is that so.” Camilla tied off the tiny braid she’d made in her hair with a bit of string that she’d had wrapped around her finger, probably from her embroidery. Her voice didn’t sound quite right, but Corrin couldn’t quite place _why_ —it wasn’t quite confusion, not quite fear, but there was something uneasy in her tone. “Well, you have always been the sort to make friends in the most unlikely of places. Just remember what I said and let me know if you need _anything_ at all, alright?”

“Of course, Camilla.” She still didn’t know why her sister was saying such things, but she never had any doubts that her sister loved her and only wanted what was best for her. It was only natural for her to be suspicious of Iago, she supposed. And even though she trusted him, it was nice to know that if circumstances were different or the worst were to happen, Camilla would be right there for her.

“Oh, and I need you to make one more promise for me, alright darling?” Camilla had taken her hands in her own and was staring into her eyes quite earnestly. It was… unsettling.

“A-alright…”

“Just promise you’ll be safe, okay?”

Corrin blinked at her. That—seemed to be in the same vein of what she’d been saying all along, but she also got the impression that Camilla wasn’t using the term ‘safe’ in the same sense she was thinking of it.

“I… sure, Camilla. Sure.” She sighed and squeezed Camilla’s hands. Camilla chuckled.

“Good girl. Remind me to lend you some books…”

“I love you, Camilla. But sometimes… you baffle me.”

“All part of my charm, darling.”

 

* * *

 

  _. zero_

“Hello, Corrin.”

A grin tugged at the edge of his lips as he heard Corrin squeak and slam the door she’d been trying to peer through. Honestly, to think this girl was leading an entire army… and doing it _well_.

“You might as well get in here,” he said with a sigh, setting his quill aside and closing the tome he was copying notes from. “Though you’re a little early for our usual meeting time…”

“I just wanted to see you.”

She was muffled behind the door, but it was clear enough to catch him off guard. Corrin could be much more… _bold_ than he had first imagined, considering she had spent most of her life in a guarded fortress seeing the same handful of people every day.

“Even more reason why you should come in rather than stand out in the hall like that, wouldn’t you say?”

Corrin opened the door again, just enough to stick her head through the door. Her face was red as if she’d just been running, and he smiled at the sight—not grinned, _smiled_. Gods, how she’d changed things…

“You’re sure? I’m not bothering you?”

“If you were, believe me, I’d have no trouble sending you away.”

Corrin still didn’t look very sure as she stepped inside, gently closing the door behind her. With her back to the door, she gathered her cape around her like a blanket and picked at it.

“Is something wrong, Corrin?” It wasn’t like her to be so… _shy_. This was a woman whose army was made up mostly of people she’d lured in off the street, after all. He realized he was… _worried_ for her, which would have been a shocking realization not so long ago.

“Wr-wrong? No, not at all! Nothing’s wrong! Everything is perfectly fine!” She twirled back and forth, making her cape dance about. Iago raised an eyebrow at her.

“With how bad you are at lying, I’m amazed you’ve kept up this charade as long as you have.” He turned his chair so he was facing her fully and crossed his legs at the knee. As soon as he looked her way, she averted her gaze, refusing to meet his eyes. Combined with her squirming and blushing, it was obvious she was uncomfortable. “You don’t have to force yourself to be here, you know. I’m quite capable of amusing myself for one afternoon.”

Though he had to admit he had gotten used to her company. Corrin stopped by nearly every day—when they weren’t actively on the forward march, of course—and even when he wasn’t in the mood for idle chatter, or when he had a great deal of work to get through, he just enjoyed her presence as she worked through one of her trite romance novels or whatever else she needed to do.

“No, of course not! I always want to spend time with you,” Corrin replied, putting her hands up in front of her. “It’s just… Gods, this is so embarrassing. I actually have something I want to tell you… It’s just not easy to say…”

“I gathered that,” he said nonchalantly, though there was a cold weight in the pit of his stomach. From day one, he’d been expecting Corrin to come to her senses and decide their time together wasn’t worth the constant nagging of her siblings—and half the army on top of that, all of whom felt they knew what was best for Corrin better than she did. “You may as well tell me. Standing there turning red as a tomato isn’t going to make it any easier.”

Corrin squeaked again and tried to cover her face with her hands, though it certainly wasn’t enough to hide the fact that she was blushing—even her ears were flushed. It was… rather _cute_ , he had to admit. She took a few deep breaths, gripping her cape tightly, and just when Iago thought she was going to scurry out of the room again—

“I love you, Iago.”

…

He stared at Corrin.

She stared back, turning more and more red with every passing second and squirming like she had an itch somewhere impolite.

He stared at her some more.

“I-Iago…? Are you…? Gods, I knew I shouldn’t have—”

“I love you too, Corrin.”

The words seemed to just… _spill out._ He had no control over them. His own words startled him just as much as Corrin’s had, but what was even more startling was that… he meant them. Such words were so often treated like trite pleasantries, but every so often he saw people who seemed to well and truly mean it. King Garon and Queen Katerina had been two such people…

And as his mind traced back through the time he had spent with Corrin, starting from when she had first been mindful enough of his wellbeing to bring him food even while he was still her prisoner, he realized just how many times he had caught her looking at him precisely the way they had once looked at each other—and how many times he had caught himself staring at her with a strange, light feeling in his chest…

“Y-you do?”

Iago was sure the two of them were quite the sight, staring at each other in open shock, their mouths hanging open, their faces flushed with embarrassment. He had never been gladder that no one other than Corrin ever came to visit him.

“Yes! What do you want, a parade? Just saying those words is enough to make me want to go hide under a rock somewhere… saying them without meaning them would be _completely_ pointless.”  He knew it was pointlessly mean, but he fell back on the familiar when he was flustered—and besides, if Corrin wasn’t used to his abrasive personality by now, he doubted she ever would be. Better for her to realize that now.

“That’s… that’s great!” Corrin was beaming now, and though he was still embarrassed beyond measure at both her forwardness and his own, he couldn’t help smiling back—not quite so brilliantly, but then, he couldn’t match a fraction of Corrin’s enthusiasm. “I… wow, I was so sure I would get shot down! I’d prepared myself for the ‘let’s just be friends’ speech and everything…”

“Are you serious? Pardon my language, but though I’m an ornery dastard, I’d have to be a damned fool to turn you away…” Again the words fell out of him before he could even think them through, but… maybe, for once, instinct would be a better guide than raw intellect. He hardly had a strategy for this situation, after all.

“W-well, the heart wants what the heart wants… but I’m relieved to hear you say that.” Corrin slumped against the door like she’d gone weak in the knees. He’d never expected to see someone reduced to that because of _him_ —and certainly not a princess of Nohr. “I mean… I’m not the only one who thinks this is crazy, right? Not too long ago we were enemies! But look at us now…”

“Oh, it’s insane, no question. But there are far worse ways to lose your mind, I suppose…” He could probably think of a few, but that would likely ruin the moment. Instead he rose from his seat and took a tentative step towards Corrin. His heart rate felt abnormally high—gods above, _he_ had gone mad, that something like this was enough to make him so nervous!

Corrin held her hand out, and he slipped his own in hers. It felt… _right_ , in a way he couldn’t quite explain even to himself. He let the feeling wash over him for a moment before reality rudely bared its head…

“Gods, your family is going to _kill_ me. They give me dirty looks just for breathing the same air as you…” Learning that he was _in love_ with her would surely be enough to earn him a slow and painful death.

“Right… well, we don’t have to tell them!” Corrin put her other hand on top of his, holding both at once and holding them near her chest. “Between the two of us, surely we can keep it a secret?”

“Corrin, as I just pointed out to you… even though you’ve managed to pull off this charade of loyalty for this long, you’re a terrible liar. At least one of your siblings will see right through that lie the moment you tell it.” And they would likely assume he had put her up to it. It was all bound to be a mess no matter how they spun it…

“Well then… why don’t we get married?”

He stared at her for several long moments, wondering if he’d heard her right.

“Ex… excuse me?”

“You heard me; let’s just get married. Everyone else is doing it, my siblings won’t have any way to interfere at that point, and if it doesn’t work out we can always get divorced. I mean… it’s not as though I can fall any further in the eyes of society.” She gave him an uneasy smile and gripped his hands tightly, obviously waiting for a reply—but his mind was _racing_ …

Oh, damn it all. His intellect was screaming at him about what a terrible idea this was, but his instincts told him this was the moment to take a chance.

“Let’s do it.”

“R-really?” Corrin beamed at him and bounced on the heels of her feet.

“So long as you understand how crazy this is,” he amended.

“Believe me, I do,” Corrin said with a nervous laugh. “But lately, crazy decisions have been what my whole life has been based around… so what’s one more?”

“Fair enough. And Corrin?”

“Yes, my love?”

“If you _do_ see your siblings… just give me some warning so I can head in the other direction, alright?”


End file.
